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BBC
Everton want to bring 31-year-old Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney back to Goodison Park and also sign Netherlands winger Memphis Depay, 22, from the Old Trafford club. (Sunday Express)
Manchester United could lose France forward Anthony Martial, 20, to Barcelona or Real Madrid in a £60m deal, with Real's Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez potentially moving in the opposite direction.(Sun on Sunday)
Arsenal are ready to make a bid to bring Chelsea and Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas, 29, back to Emirates Stadium. (Sunday Express)
Liverpool will compete with French champions Paris St-Germain for the signature of Borussia Dortmund and USA midfielder Christian Pulisic, 18. (Bild - in German)
And Reds manager Jurgen Klopp is looking to bring further reinforcements to Anfield because of his team's injuries. (Mail on Sunday)
Alternatively, Klopp is unlikely to make any signings next month and says his team cannot carry the burden of Liverpool having not won the league title for 26 years. (Observer)
Manchester United's England winger Jesse Lingard, 23, is holding out for a larger contract than the £60,000-a-week deal he has been offered. (Sunday Mirror)
Arsenal and Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil, 28, has again fuelled rumours he will return to Real Madrid, after describing the Spanish team's manager Zinedine Zidane as his "idol". (Sun on Sunday)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will decide whether to offer 31-year-old midfielder Santi Cazorla a new contract in January, with the Spain international's recent injury problems having no bearing on the potential deal. (London Evening Standard)
And Wenger could move for 17-year-old Italian goalkeeping prospect Aniello Viscovo, with transfer talks already under way with Serie A side Crotone. (Tuttomercatoweb - in Italian)
Another young Italian could be set for a switch to the Premier League, with Chelsea interested in 17-year-old Inter Milan striker Andrea Pinamonti. (Sunday Mirror)
Chelsea failed to sign Hoffenheim defender Niklas Sule, 21, in the summer but remain interested in the German, who is also being tracked by Liverpool and Bayern Munich. (Daily Star Sunday)
Roma's prospective loan move for Manchester United winger Memphis Depay could include the option to make the move permanent for £21m. (Sun on Sunday)
Another United winger could be on his way out of Old Trafford, with Everton, West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Swansea interested in 31-year-old England international Ashley Young. (ESPN)
Crystal Palace and West Ham are both keen on Newcastle's Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, 22. (Daily Star Sunday)
Gareth Southgate will try to convince Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, 24, to choose to play for his England side rather than the Ivory Coast. (Sunday Telegraph)
Everton are interested in Burnley's former England Under-21 centre-back Michael Keane, 23. (Sunday Mirror)
Southampton and Netherlands centre-back Virgil van Dijk is another defensive target for Everton boss Ronald Koeman, although Manchester United and Manchester City could also bid for the 25-year-old. (Sunday Mirror)
West Brom manager Tony Pulis says his side's strong first half of the season gives him "a platform" from which to sign players in the January transfer window. (Sky Sports)
Charlton's England Under-20 winger Ademola Lookman, 19, could be set for a switch to Everton. (Liverpool Echo)
Middlesbrough will make Scotland striker Jordan Rhodes, 26, available for transfer. (Northern Echo)
And finally
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, 39, says he is a fan of 1980s music, including A-ha, Spandau Ballet, Wham and Duran Duran - and doesn't mind admitting it. (Mail on Sunday)
Paul Pogba, the world's most expensive player, says re-signing for Manchester United from Juventus was like "returning home after a holiday". (Sky Sports)
Guardian
Alexis Sánchez hits hat-trick as Arsenal put five past West Ham
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
Being generous, there is an argument that Arsenal’s late glut of goals in the final 20 minutes exaggerated the extent of their dominance. Yet a more accurate summary is that Arsenal were superior from start to finish, played with the cold-blooded intent of potential champions and exposed West Ham United’s defensive shortcomings so clinically that some awkward questions will be asked about Slaven Bilic’s future.
While West Ham contemplated the likelihood of a long, dispiriting fight against relegation, Arsenal responded to Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City earlier in the day by rising into second place, three points behind Antonio Conte’s leaders. They drew inspiration from splendid performances from the two maestros in their attack and the quality of their football during that blistering 14-minute spell, when Alexis Sánchez scored a stunning hat-trick, ensured that Arsène Wenger arrived for his press conference with a smile on his face.
Whether we are witnessing the emergence of the third great team of the Wenger era remains to be seen but there can be no doubt that Arsenal are developing the killer instinct that has so often undermined them since The Invincibles won the title in 2004. Wenger observed that the one regret from the first half was that Arsenal scored only once, Sánchez teeing up the excellent Mesut Özil for a simple finish, and that might have been the start of a lament about needless dropped points in previous seasons. Yet Arsenal’s growing professionalism meant that West Ham’s hopes of an equaliser always looked slim.
Any team with serious aspirations of winning the title must beat opponents languishing near the bottom and it was not long before Arsenal were spreading anxiety in West Ham’s defence, seeking to capitalise on the injury to James Collins that forced Bilic to switch from three to four at the back after seven minutes. Álvaro Arbeloa came on for his first appearance since October and the veteran right-back’s rustiness was clearly visible as Nacho Monreal raced behind him on several occasions. Winston Reid alertly denied Sánchez but West Ham were creaking.
It was certainly a strange experience to be at a London derby and find such a subdued atmosphere. Gone are the tight, inhospitable surroundings of Upton Park, where visiting teams could usually expect a fierce reception from home fans who acted as a 12th man for West Ham in the biggest matches. With its running track, the London Stadium has none of the old snarl. The empty seats dotted around the home areas were impossible to miss and so was the palpable sense of unease whenever Arsenal attacked, rejoicing in the wide open spaces on the break.
West Ham have deeper concerns on the pitch, however, and it exasperated Bilic to see one of his more experienced players gift Arsenal their opener. Angelo Ogbonna’s casual attempt to play out from the back allowed Francis Coquelin to divert the ball to Sánchez, who beat Reid’s feeble challenge before presenting Özil with an open goal.
Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Cheikhou Kouyaté and Diafra Sakho were all unavailable for West Ham but Bilic was not interested in excuses. A point above the bottom three, West Ham cannot fool themselves into thinking that they are too good to go down. It will alarm the club’s hierarchy to hear Bilic say that “the dedication to the cause is missing”.
“Somewhere during the line we lost the intensity in training,” West Ham’s manager said. “We can’t rely on quality. It’s my responsibility to get it back.”
It was difficult to disagree when the stadium announcer began a half-time interview with Marlon Harewood, who scored the winner in this fixture 10 years ago, by joking that “there aren’t many natural goalscorers at West Ham”.
Ashley Fletcher toiled on his own up front but there was a warning for Arsenal when the otherwise ineffective Dimitri Payet sent Manuel Lanzini through on goal when the game was still goalless. The Argentinian dithered, though, and shot too close to Petr Cech after a muddled dribble.
That chance aside, Cech would do little of any significance until he picked the ball out of the net when Andy Carroll, who made his first appearance since August as a late substitute, headed in the rebound after Payet’s free-kick had struck the woodwork.
Arsenal already led 3-0 by that point, though. Wenger had been fretting about his team’s slender lead until Sánchez barrelled past Arthur Masuaku and drove a shot past Darren Randolph, who had no chance when the Chilean beat him with another crisp effort from 20 yards. “He has a killer instinct,” Wenger said.
Carroll’s consolation only provoked Arsenal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain responded with a fine goal and Sánchez rubbed further salt into the wound when he produced a beautiful dink over Randolph. The home fans who stayed until the bitter end could only marvel at his class.
Telegraph
West Ham 1 Arsenal 5: Alexis Sanchez scores superb hat-trick as Gunners put five past sorry Hammers
Matt Law
Does lots of open space, little atmosphere and fans heading for the exits early sound familiar? It certainly felt like home to the travelling Arsenal supporters who chanted ‘Is this the Emirates?’ and the club’s players felt equally comfortable in their surroundings.
A trip to West Ham always looked like a potential banana skin for Arsene Wenger’s team, with Upton Park’s tight pitch and intimidating atmosphere, but the Hammers have lost that particular advantage thanks to their move.
Never before, in 110 years, had Arsenal scored five away at West Ham and the London Stadium hosted its first hat-trick, as Alexis Sanchez left with the matchball.
Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were also on target, as Arsenal lifted themselves into second place in the Premier League table and emphatically added to the sense that West Ham’s opponents enjoy playing at their shiny stadium much more than they do.
Wenger acknowledged this point by saying: “West Ham have two handicaps, they play in a new ground. It is not completely comfortable, especially when they lack confidence.”
Sanchez is now level with Brazilian-born Diego Costa in the Premier League scoring charts, one ahead of Argentine Sergio Aguero, and Wenger added: “He has all the ingredients to be a top class striker and he shows that. He is quick, can dribble and he has a killer instinct. It shows the South Americans are the leading strikers in world football. You have to acknowledge that.”
There were some mitigating factors for Slaven Bilic, who has been hit hard by injuries, but the West Ham manager had a warning for his players and acknowledged they are in a relegation fight.
“Somewhere, we lost the intensity in training,” said Bilic. “We don’t show it in every training session. That’s why we can’t do it over 90 minutes in a game. We have to bring it back. This intensity and dedication to the cause is missing.
“I’m very disappointed and feel frustrated and humiliated to be fair. I want to say sorry to the fans and the clubs and to everyone who has something to do with West Ham United.”
Already without injured duo Aaron Cresswell and Cheikhou Kouyate, Bilic lost central defender James Collins in just the seventh minute.
Alvaro Arbeloa was sent on, but West Ham were forced to change to a 4-1-4-1 formation and that completely threw Bilic’s side, who could easily have conceded eight or nine goals – let alone five.
Angelo Ogbonna had to cut out a cross from Nacho Monreal before another low centre from the Spaniard was diverted off the foot of Sanchez by Winston Reid to prevent what would have been a certain goal.
Shkodran Mustafi went close with a glancing header from Ozil’s inswinging corner before Ozil finally opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 24th minute thanks to a comedy of errors from the hosts.
Ogbonna’s attempted clearance out of defence was charged down by Francis Coquelin and Sanchez easily danced around the challenge from Reid to go through on goal. As goalkeeper Darren Randolph advanced, the Chile international squared the ball for Ozil to tap into the net.
Up to Ozil’s opening goal, West Ham had threatened the Gunners just once. Dimitri Payet cut the defence in two with a wonderful low pass that released Manuel Lanzini. But rather than shooting early, the Argentine delayed and was forced wide before Petr Cech kept out his shot.
Oxlade-Chamberlain had wasted a number of promising situations, but finally he found the right ball 10 minutes before the break to send Sanchez scampering towards goal. Everybody expected the net to bulge, but the forward tried to round Randolph and squandered the opportunity.
There was a promising sign for Bilic’s men on the just before the break, as 21-year-old forward Ashley Fletcher sent in a dangerous cross that Pedro Obiang headed over the crossbar.
But that small sign of life did not spare the West Ham players being booed off by their fans at the break and even the on-pitch compere acknowledged that the club currently have a lack of players who look capable of scoring a goal as he interviewed former striker Marlon Harewood.
The obvious concern for Wenger’s men was that they had not killed the game off and there were two warnings in quick succession. First, Lanzini got free and sent in a low cross that Laurent Koscielny had to clear and then the lively Fletcher fired just wide.
Arsenal substitute Aaron Ramsey should have put the three points beyond doubt when he was found by Monreal, but the midfielder’s shot was saved superbly by Randolph, who then recovered to keep out Ozil’s follow up.
The West Ham fans called for substitute Andy Carroll, but by the time the striker was sent on many of those supporters were already heading for the exits after Sanchez had doubled Arsenal’s lead.
As Carroll waited to go on, Sanchez drove into the penalty area before brilliantly firing an angled shot past the diving Randolph.
Bilic immediately replaced Mark Noble with Carroll, but Sanchez got his second and Arsenal’s third with a half-volley into the corner of Randolph’s net to ensure that Stratford tube station received plenty of early travellers.
Those who had left missed a flurry of late goals as Carroll pulled one back after Payet had hit the bar, but Oxlade-Chamberlain restored Arsenal’s three-goal advantage before Sanchez saved the best until last.
The 27-year-old broke free and then completely dummied Randolph by looping his boot over the ball before lifting it over the goalkeeper’s diving frame and into the net.
Replays showed Sanchez had been offside, but the quality of his finish ensured there were few complaints – certainly not from the London Stadium ball boys wrapped up in West Ham jackets who stopped Arsenal’s star man for selfies as he left the pitch at the final whistle.
OS
Honest Bilic apologises for defeat
Slaven Bilic apologised to everyone associated with the Club following Saturday's defeat
West Ham United were beaten 5-1 by Arsenal at London Stadium in the Premier League
Manager gave a brutally honest press conference in which he vowed to turn things around
Slaven Bilic issued a heartfelt apology to everyone associated with West Ham United following Saturday’s 5-1 Premier League defeat by Arsenal.
The Hammers were left crestfallen as Alexis Sanchez’s hat-trick took the shine off Andy Carroll’s goalscoring return.
Speaking to a packed press conference at London Stadium, Bilic was refreshingly and brutally honest in his assessment of the situation. Here is a transcript of what the manager had to say:
Slaven, at 1-0 down after 70 minutes you were right in the game and must have thought you could get something, then everything went wrong. What happened?
“We had some good spells in the game, like we've had good spells in the season but we have to be honest and say we don't do it in every game for the full length of the game, so they deserved it.
“We had some spells at 1-0 for them, even 2-0 for them, but for 90 minutes, they were very aggressive. We knew they had that pace up front and sometimes they like to play on a big pitch, so they let you have something and attack you in the big space and they can be lethal.
“I'm very disappointed, I feel frustrated and humiliated to be fair and I must say sorry to the fans, the Club and everyone who has anything to do with West Ham United because it was really bad.
“Maybe the result [was unfair], if you look at the spells of the game, there were moments when we were alive until the last 20 minutes, but you can't say they didn't deserve it.”
Arsene Wenger said your team were lacking confidence. Do you agree?
“Confidence is one of the reasons. Arsene is very polite and he told me some good things before the end of the game, but of course you can't have confidence when you are 16th and your expectations are to be seventh, eighth or whatever.
“Confidence is a chain-reaction. I said it to the players – be responsible for this, because somewhere down the line, from pre-season onwards, we lost our intensity in training.
“We don't do it in every training, we do it occasionally, and that's why we can't do it over 90 minutes in the games. We have to bring it back because we can't rely only on quality. Every team in this league has enough quality, but if you don't have intensity on the level that is required, like we don’t have it at the moment, this is the reflection.”
Is it down to you or the players?
“You know me and I'm not trying to make excuses and I’m not trying to say who is guilty. I said it to the staff and to the players and it is my responsibility as the manager and I have to get it back as quickly as possible because we don't have it at the moment.
“We can't lie and say this and that. We can’t hide behind referees’ decisions or injuries. Overall, it's not good. We've had 14 games and we've had some great games – Chelsea in the EFL Cup, Palace, the majority of the game at Spurs, Old Trafford – and we’ve worked hard in games like against Bournemouth, and we had eight injuries today, that's all true, but (bangs his chest) this is the main reason. That’s a fact.”
If intensity is not there in training or on matchdays, what can you do?
“We are not the first or the last to lose it, or not look like the same team from five games before or from last season. It is there and it is in us, starting with me, and it is in the players, so we have to start doing it consistently on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and every day...
“It’s there. We can do it, because these players have done it, but the dedication to the cause is missing.”
Do the players need to take more responsibility?
“I take the responsibility. Players are there to give everything in training and in matches and the manager is there to take the responsibility and I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with that.
“There is no point talking about who is taking responsibility after the game. We need it before the game, during the game and in every training.
“We can talk for ages here now, but the fact is 100 per cent right and that is we didn't forget to play football or forget to be creative and all that, but somewhere along the line, somehow, we lost our intensity.”
Are you in a relegation battle and do the players know they are in one?
“Of course we are in a relegation fight and of course the players know that. It's not that they don't care. I spoke to all of them but something is there between caring and being crazy.”
Do you think the players believe their talent is enough to get them out of it?
“That’s a good question. To be fair, it doesn’t look like we know that it isn’t enough. They and me are together. We didn't play tonight like we know we can, and we are in the same position we were in before the game.
“It's about time for us – not for them – to realise what position we are, the situation we're in at the moment and the only thing we have to do to get us out of this zone.”
You know what happens when players don’t respond to a manager – the manager gets sacked. Do you think you are in that kind of territory?
“It's your job to ask me that and it's a normal question in this kind of situation, where the expectations are higher than the situation we are in.
“I'm a very positive, open person and try to be open and honest. I am very optimistic and will never give up. I am positive I can turn this around.
“Do I enjoy to be in this situation? No. Do I feel pressure? Yeah, but I don’t want to feel like I’m feeling now. Am I positive? Yes I am. Did I do enough last season to get some credit? I think I did.
“At the same I'm 48 and have been in football for 30 years so I know how it works in football, and I have absolutely no problem with that.
“Do I like my job? Yes, I like it.”
Star
EXCLUSIVE: West Ham and Crystal Palace plot January raid for Newcastle striker
WEST HAM and Crystal Palace are both chasing Newcastle hitman Aleksandar Mitrovic.
By Harry Pratt
The Serbia striker, 22, has scored five times this season for the Championship side but is still unable to command a regular place at St James’ Park.
That has alerted Premier League strugglers Palace and West Ham, who are both desperate to boost their firepower going into the second half of the season.
Unsettled Liverpool ace Daniel Sturridge is the first choice for the London rivals but Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp is adamant the England international will not be leaving in the January window.
Toon chief Rafa Benitez feels the same way about losing Mitrovic but with Dwight Gayle usually ahead in Benitez’s pecking order, any offer matching the £14.5million Mitrovic cost would be tempting.
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